Paris Olympics: Balancing full-time employment with outside interests
The sun has now set on the two glorious weeks that was the 2024 Paris Olympics, which graced us with many incredible (and viral) sporting moments. As the world watched the greatest athletes compete against each other, we here at Littler were naturally left wondering how athletes who have full-time jobs manage to balance their gruelling training and competition schedules with the commitment that comes with being employed.
We recently spoke to two Team GB Olympic athletes – Jacob Fincham-Dukes, who placed 5th in the long jump finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and Jazmin Sawyers, an Olympic long jumper and commentator who competed in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics – about how Olympians manage juggling full-time work whilst trying to compete at the highest level.
Balancing competing priorities
Jacob Fincham-Dukes made national headlines in the UK when he mentioned to BBC Sports that he would be flying back to the US after placing 5th in the long jump finals at the Paris Olympics so that he could return to his full-time job.
Expanding on the need to juggle work and focus on training and competing, Jacob told Littler: “It can be difficult at times simply because I have to manage both and split my focus. As anyone knows, jobs can be mentally draining so I have to just switch that off when competing and training.”
Jacob, a Senior Associate at a consulting company, said that as he is employed on a full-time basis in the US, he has less leave each year to accommodate his training and competition schedule. He said, “My company is better than most others that I know of [in the US], but the UK [leave] standard is better than anything the US offers. I do have to work those days off around which meets I want to compete at throughout the year. I’m sure I could take some unpaid leave if need be, but … that’s simply lost income and not to mention it puts my daily work on other members of my team. All being said though, without my company being as flexible and good / supportive as they are, I couldn’t do both – I’m lucky in that regard.”
While it is clear that support from an employer is invaluable for professional athletes, Olympic long jumper Jazmin Sawyers reiterated the difficulty for those professional athletes with full-time jobs who do not have sponsorships: “Nobody teaches athletes how to get sponsorships and for many the opportunities just don’t come up, so they have to work full-time alongside trying to train five to six hours a day. Some of those athletes were the ones on our screens at the Olympics, like Jacob Fincham-Dukes who spent the Olympic preparation camp at his laptop as he couldn’t get the whole period of the Olympic Games off. He finished 5th in the long jump, just two places away from a medal, without being able to dedicate his life to his sport because he just couldn’t get by without working. The hours of magic we saw at the Olympics were often granted to us by athletes that have to work in regular jobs to keep their dreams alive, but with sponsorship, could become world-beating.”
How to deal with an employee’s outside activities and interests
So what should employers do when their employees have interests or passions outside of work that represent a significant commitment?
- Firstly, employers should check whether there is an ‘outside interests’ clause in the employee’s contract. These are clauses which typically specify that employees need their employer’s consent to be able to do any other type of work or be engaged, concerned or interested in any other business, occupation or profession during their employment. In particular, it is common for employers to take a number of factors into account in determining whether consent should be provided, such as whether the activity or interest in question competes with the business of the employer, could impact on the employee’s ability to perform their role and duties and/or whether it could create an actual or potential conflict of interest. It is therefore helpful for employers to discuss the scope of the outside activity or interest with the employee in the first instance to gain a better understanding of how that activity or interest may impact their existing employment.
- Additionally, employers should consider their leave policies to determine what types of leave employees can take if they want to take time off work to focus on their outside activities and interests. While most employers in the UK will, in the first instance, require their employees to take annual leave to cover any absences from work, some employers may have a policy through which employees are able to take unpaid leave, other types of special employer supported / provided leave or discretionary unlimited paid time off where their annual leave entitlement has been exhausted.
- Finally, employers should bear in mind that since 6 April 2024, employees have a ‘day one’ right to make a flexible working request. Employees can request to change the hours that they work, the times when they are required to work and their place of work. This could involve, for example, a request to work on a part-time basis (rather than full-time basis), work compressed hours or to work from home (if they are otherwise contractually required to work in the office). Making a flexible working request may therefore be attractive to those employees who may want to pursue outside activities and interests in tandem with their work commitments. If you receive a flexible working request from an employee, then you should bear in mind that there are specific processes that must be followed when considering and responding to a flexible working request.
